Resurgent
by ivymuse
Summary: One mistake was all it took for Echo, the impatient Candor girl with a distaste for honesty. Before she even gets the chance to turn her life around she finds herself with the factionless, the scum of the city, unwanted and uncared for by the factions. But Echo knows Dauntless is her calling – and she is determined to listen.
1. Chapter 1

_This is my very first fanfiction, set in the universe of Divergent. I do not own the universe but the characters (so far) are all mine. I might have some cameo appearances of some of the "real" characters at some point._

_The story is set at about the beginnig of Divergent, I will write it in a way that it could happen parallel to the actual storyline._

_Enjoy, and please let me know what you think of it :D_

**Chapter One**

She woke from a loud rattling noise outside her window. The night was still pitch black and the headlights of the train speeding past where the only specks of light visible. Its iron wheels screeched as they took a turn too fast and the house shook with silent vibrations. Echo just sat there, staring outside at the dim lights in the distance as they danced through the night and wished herself to be with them. Suspended in darkness, with the wind in her hair and the taste of freedom on her tongue. Then the train was gone and the house lay silent again.

Calling the old shack she lived in a house was somewhat of an exaggeration. The building had been sitting on its spot by the rails for decades now, time and weather having worn it down to its current state. There were several holes in the roof and the parts that were still covered threatened to crash down on their heads any minute. The windows lacked insulation and the cold found its way past the stained glass every night. Its walls were paperthin, you could hear everything and everything could be heard. There was hardly any privacy.

But what else could be expected from a safehouse. At least it provided them with shelter and a place to sleep. It was common knowledge that there were many factionless people out there far less fortunate than herself. She really shouldn't be complaining.

But somewhere in the back of her mind was still that little voice, the voice that would grow and push and expand in moments like these and scream at her what the hell she had been thinking, all those years ago. And every single time she forced it back down, locked it away where it could not bother her anymore. The past was the past. You could either mope around, drowning in self pity or make the best of what you had. And Echo wasn't one to mope.

When she woke again, the longing feeling of last night had passed, as it usually did. All around her the day had already begun. People were bustling about, getting their cots in order and handing food around. Her own stomach growled as well so she quickly untangled her legs from the bedsheet and threw on a sweatshirt, the cold of the night having not yet completely surrendered to the first rays of sun that fell in through the windows. Her naked feet grazed the cold stone floor as she made her way through what was the closest thing to a family she had now. Some of them smiled at her when she approached but most of them didn't. Her quick tongue and creative mind where not only what had gotten her into this mess to begin with, but they also took care that her punishment wouldn't be one too easily borne. No matter. She didn't need more friends than she had. Admittedly, that sum amounted to exactly one person, but still.

Echo sat down against the wall, next to a middle-aged woman with streaks of grey in her dark brown hair. Without so much as looking at her the woman handed her a tin filled with mashed potatoes that looked like someone had dropped them on the floor and just scooped them back up into the tin. She grimaced but pulled a wooden spoon out of her pocket and brought the yellow pulp to her lips. It tasted just as bad as it looked and Echo's frown deepend. But nonetheless, it was food and food was the only thing that would quiet down her stomach that was already starting to feel like it was about to feed off itself.

Before she was able to grab another spoonfull to soothe the hungry monster, someone ripped the tin from her grip and sunk their own spoon inside. Echo frowned at her friend who dropped down next to her, deeply absorbed in the mashed potatoes and not paying her any attention. Her short, red hair was dishevelled, apparently she had only gotten out of bed as well.

"You ever heard of sharing?", Echo asked sarcastically, her eyebrows raised.

Acacia just grinned and shoved another spoonfull of potatoes into her mouth before handing the now almost empty tin to the man next to her who scowled at her but kept quiet.

"You ever heard of waking your best friend up for breakfast so she won't starve... _Verity_?", Acacia retorted, using the name she had been given by her former faction.

A dark shadow passed over Echo's eyes.

"I just woke up myself, not my fault you can't get your lazy ass out of bed! And don't _ever _call me that again! " Her gaze was fixed on Acacia's, a challenging gleam in them.

Her friend just stared back, not rising to the challenge. She was well aware that it was generally better to ignore Echo when she was in one of her "I'm-here-wanna-fight" moods - it never led to anything. Echo was good with her words as well as with her fists so it was better to steer clear of arguments when they were about... well, nothing.

"Listen, before you implode or something, I have something to tell you: I was just talking to old Greg over there when a messenger from Abnegation stopped by. Apparently there's gonna be a transfer sometime this week. Not sure what faction, the guy wouldn't tell me. But what's more important, there's a rumour going around that whoever it is, he's...", her voice dropped to a barely audible whisper, "divergent!" Her eyes had turned wide with awe.

Echo just furrowed her brows, reaching for another tin the brown-haired woman passed to her. This one was filled with the same contets as the last one but it's colour was a sickening green. She had to swallow several times to get it down.

"Acacia, I know you believe in that stuff but... I don't know, it just doesn't seem real! How could one possibly have an aptitude for more than one faction?" She shot her a doutbful glance.

Now it was Acacia's turn to stare at her friend angrily.

"Divergence is not just a myth, you know. It's more than likely that some people don't just fit in one specific category. I mean, one can be smart and still belong to Dauntless, right?" Her voice broke a little at the mention of her old faction but Echo pretended not to notice. Factionless was factionless. They were all in the same boat here, there was no place for pity.

"It's not that simple and you know it. Sure you can have traits that belong to a different faction but the faction system is about what you believe in. One can be smart in Dauntless, but why did they choose Dauntless? Because they value bravery above everything else. Not intelligence. They migh be smarter than the rest of their peers but when it comes down to it, when push comes to shove a real Dauntless is going to act _courageously._ _Not wisely_. And you have to choose. You can't just be a little bit of both. That's not the way the world works."

Acacia had shrunk in on herself a little, knotting her hands that were sticky with sweat. Echo watched her out of the corner of her eye. She had known her words would hurt her friend and she had said them anyway. It's what's best for her, she told herself. She needs to stop hanging onto childish fantasies or she will never be able to let go of her old life.

When her aptitude test results had not read Dauntless, Acacia had been torn between staying with her family and choosing a life of studies in Erudite. Not wanting to disappoint her older brothers she had let her blood fall on the coals, just as they had done years before. And this simple act that had made their lives glorious and desireable in the eyes of their younger sister had destroyed hers.

A week into initiation their instructor had ordered them to climb a rope that was dangling over the chasm in order to test their bravery. Acacia had refused, the act had seemed so foolish and unnecessary to her. And only minutes later she had found herself factionless, cut off from the life she knew and cherished and from the brothers she was to never see again.

The only thing that kept her going was the indestructible belief that there was a reason for all that happening to here, a reason why she didn't choose Erudite and wouldn't fit in with Dauntless: Divergence. Deep down she felt she knew she was divergent – different, special, worth something. But the harsh truth was she was not. She was ordinary and worthless, just like every other factionless. They were the scum of the city, the dirt the factions would sweep under the carpet so no one would see and no one would know. Out of sight, out of mind. That was the way it was and had always been.

More than a year had passed since then but Acacia still had not accustomed to her life as a factionless the way Echo had. Yes, the food was terrible and she would despise it til the day she died. But nonetheless, Echo had spent over a quarter of her life this way, always hungry, always cold. The memories she still carried with her from Candor had started to fade, started to meld into darkness. The scents and sounds and pictures she had had of her old home had been erased, replaced by those of her new life.

Oh, what a foolish little girl you were, Echo now thought to herself. Taking all that for granted. You could have had so much more but you blew it all. You thought what you were doing was Dauntless, but instead it was just stupid.

The part of her that was Echo, the brave, resilient, new her she had discovered in the last five years as a factionless didn't care, didn't let herself feel guilt, wouldn't want to live any other way. But for the Verity in her, the young, impatient Candor girl born with a mind so hateful of honesty she couldn't get away from it fast enough, it would always stay a stupid, _stupid_ mistake that she would regret all her life.


	2. Chapter 2

_Welcome back for chapter two! :)_**  
**

_And this time you will learn a little bit more about Echo's past..._

_I don't own this universe, hope you enjoy it and I'm always happy about reviews! :)_

**Chapter Two**

When she was five years old Verity discovered what a lie was. It was the day of her first lie detector test, a standard procedure for all Candor children to get them accustomed to the foreign device that would read their minds. She looked at her parents the whole time while a man attached wires to her arms and legs, focusing her gaze on her father's blue eyes that were so full of warmth they seemed to flow over. Her mother was standing by him, her eyes such a contrast to his, hard and lacking any real emotion.

She was seated in what resembled a dentist's chair, her hand curled around a sharp metal disk that soon turned sticky with her sweat. Then came the questions. At first they were easy. Her name. Verity Blue. Her age. Five. Her parents' names. Alastair and Camille. What school she went to. She had been there for only a week and she didn't remember the name, so she only said primary school. When specifically asked the name of the school she had to admit she didn't remember. Her mother scowled at her.

Then the questions got harder. If she had ever been reprimanded at school. No. If she had made any friends yet. Yes, a girl named Melinda. She sat next to her in class. If she and her younger brother fought a lot. No, but he got really mad when she tried to take his pacifier away. If she had ever taken anything that didn't belong to her. At first she didn't answer. She thought back a few weeks to when her parents had gone out and she had found a slice of cake sitting at the table. She had known it would be wrong to take it but she hadn't cared. It had been chocolate cake. It had been delicious. The man running her test looked at her intently and repeated his question. She pressed her lips together so hard it hurt. He asked again and this time she could feel her mother's eyer boring into her. She opened her mouth and a small "no" was all that came out.

Suddenly the machines next to her started beeping indignantly, the loud noise hurting her ears. When she looked up she found the three grown ups staring at her, but all she could see was the look in her mother's eyes as she slapped her right across the face.

Her mother had intended to make her regret not telling the truh, she knew that now. But the only thing that five year old Verity learned that day was that lies need to be better conceiled if she did not want to get punished for them. So when she wanted another slice of the delicious Sunday bread and asked her father if she could have another to give to one of her friends the next day she kept her lips from quivering and her eyes glued to his. It hurt a little less this time. When she accidentally dropped a blue vase in the hallway and told her mother that it had been the neighbour's dogs playing a little too wildly she kept her back straight and her face calm. Barely felt that one. When she fell and hit her knee in the street and told her teacher the boy that had taken her favourite pencil a week earlier had pushed her, real tears sprung from her eyes and her voice cracked at all the right times. The teacher scolded the boy who only stared at her while she gave him a week detention for something he had never done. That was the first time they believed her. The first time she felt the power her words could have if she only willed them to.

From that point on she lied a lot, sometimes without meaning to.

How she was doing.

"Great, thank you and how are you?"

How she liked that dress.

"It's absolutely gorgeous, looks so beautiful on you!"

Why she wouldn't be able to join them for dinner.  
"I'm feeling a little sick today, but please have fun without me!"

Lies, lies, lies. All lies. White ones and black ones and sometimes pink ones or blue ones. The whole rainbow up and down. And she liked it. Her whole body buzzing like a hive of bees, the adrenaline surging through her veins as her face contorted at will to fit any situation. Her voice high and pitched or low and serious. Her hands idly at the sides or crossed in front of her body. Her lips pursed or curving up into a smile. She knew where to wrinkle her skin to convey what emotion and she loved every minute of it.

But with all her little lies inside the honesty outside started becoming too much for her. She suddenly couldn't stand it anymore how people she used to view as her friends spoke their mind at all times, right what they thought when they thought it. How they exposed themselves to others, opened themselves up and turned their innermost secrets to the outside. To her it felt like they were handing guns out to anyone who would have them, giving them a pat on the shoulder and showing them where a shot would hurt the most.

And then came the week of the Choosing Ceremony. Yet another one of those life-changing events that were still years from the grasp of fourteen-year-old Verity. She had imagined it often, at night, just before she went to sleep. How she would slice her hand open, how the pain would sting but she wouldn't care, how she would hold her hand out ceremoniously and her blood would drip down to sizzle on the burning coals. And most of all, she thought about how far away that moment would carry her from Candor.

No. She could not possibly wait two more years to be free of the life she despised.

Her mind was set. A little make-up, some hair dye and letting it fall in waves down the sides of her face was all it took to sneak past the security guard at the entrance of the cafeteria where the admissions forms for the aptitude tests would need to be filled out. When she handed hers in, the instructor looked at her a little quizzically as he searched for her name on the clipboard he carried with him.

"I'm sorry, what was your name again?", he asked. He was obviously Abnegation, the hint of curiosity in that question already threw him off balance.

"Verity Blue", she answered without hesitation. She smiled at him innocently. "I might not be on the list yet, I just transferred to this school. I'm not on my class list yet either so I'm not surprised. But I'm sure it's just a little administrative issue, I was told it should be taken care of shortly." Her posture was nonchalant, almost careless and her voice didn't carry the hint of deception. Also the Candor clothing didn't hurt. The white blouse and the black skirt that hit her mid-calf were practically screaming honesty at him.

"Sure." The man smiled at her. "Good luck with your test tomorrow!"

And in that one small moment she thought she made it. Done it all. Believed that in a few days she would be throwing knives at targets and jumping out of train cars.

But life does this nasty thing where it doesn't always follow your plans. And when Jack Kang knocked on her door that night and told her she was to be sent away, factionless, friendless, penniless, all her plans turned to dust.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks for your reviews so far, here comes part three :)_

_Please let me know what you think!_

**Chapter Three**

Small raindrops snaked their way down the glass while the world outside drowned in the cold autumn weather. They perched at the windows, all of them. In clusters of three or four they huddled together to get a better view of the two figures outside. No matter how often they had welcomed new people into their ranks, it was always an event that ripped through their grisly routine and sparked curiosity in everyone. The two people making their way towards the safehouse, a man and a woman, were completely soaked to the skin by the time they reached the front door. Ava, one of the older women and former Abnegation, went to let them in. Quickly, all of the others dispersed and tried to look busy with some pretend work. It didn't look very convincing, especially since they stole glances at the newcomers that were so far from being subtle they might as well have stared openly.

Like Acacia did. It was obvious that Echo had not been able to dispel her illusions since her eyes were glued to the boy that stood now in the room, dripping wet with dark, messy hair and a weary expression on his face. Echo would have guessed him to be about 16 years old. An initiate then. The blue denim jeans he wore and the equally blue shirt marked him out to be from Erudite. Smart, huh?, Echo thought. We'll see how book smartness translates to life smartness. He was not particularly handsome, his cheeks where hollow and gaunt and he seemed generally malnourished. But it was also the way he ducked his head down, cowering, trying to make himself invisible. It suddenly struck her that he looked broken. He must have been through a lot, she thought. How the hell did Erudite initiation wear him out so badly?

Former Abnegation members crowded around him and his companion, handing them towels and dry clothes to replace their wet ones with. The Erudite boy peeled himself out of his blue shirt immediately but the woman hesitated. She seemed to be quite a bit older, maybe late thirties. She wore plain, grey clothes that were so wet they almost looked black. Her clothes were not the only thing that indicated that she was a Stiff. Her blonde hair was tied in a tight bun at the top of her head with small hairs sticking out. She had a beautiful face but wore an expression that showed how little she cared for it. She walked carefully, placed every step deliberately and she kept her gaze mainly focused on the tiles on the floor. Yet there was something in the way she held herself that didn't fit with Abnegation. Echo wasn't able to determine what exactly it was that drew her attention... was it pride? Hardly. Pride was the Abnegation equivalent of a mortal sin.

Before she could ponder this curiostiy any longer, a tall, dark man appeared at the end of the hallway. The other factionless moved aside to let him through as he made his way towards the two newcomers. Yuma. The head of the safehouse.

She had always thought Yuma to be rather good-looking, even though he was way past fifty and there was not a single hair left on his head. Yet it looked deliberate, as if he had shaven it all off in a fit of a belated midlife crisis. His skin was the colour of chocolate and he had a series of intricate tattoos that snaked their way along his left biceps. Despite his age he was still more than just "in good shape" – at least measured by factionless standards. The Dauntless had apparently judged him to be way past his prime and had therefore simply discarded him. Their own _leader!_ Hot anger bubbled up in Echo as she felt the injustice of it all. He had done so much for herself, taught her everything she knew about hand-to-hand combat, helped her steel her muscles so she would be capable to fight off any attackers and train her mind to be as sharp as a blade's edge – and he, Yuma, one of the greates men she knew was just Dauntless garbage? Maybe it was better that I didn't join them, she thought, filled with bitterness. They're just a bunch of brutal idiots who don't know a great guy when they see one.

He kept his back straight as he approached them, emanating natural authority. Stopping just before the boy and his companion he bowed his head at the woman in the typical Abnegation greeting. A sign of respect, Echo realised. She didn't often come in touch with faction members but when she did it always came as a shock to see how far beneath them they were viewed by the factions.

"Miss Prior", Yuma gestured towards the rectangular piece of wood that sat over the hole in the wall at the end of the hallway. Two of the factionless immediately moved to put the makeshift door aside so Yuma and the woman could pass through to a more private area. After they had put the board back in place most of the others immediately crowded around it, peeking through small holes and pressing their ears against the wall. Echo snorted. Yeah, so much for privacy.

The Erudite boy had stayed where he was, looking forlorn. The occasional drop of rainwater fell from the ends of his hair, hitting the floorboard.

Before Echo could do anything to stop her, Acacia had already taken the initiative and moved closer to the boy.

"Hey there", she said, trying in vain to sound nonchalant. Her eyes wore the same expression they got when she spoke about Divergence. Echo could tell by the slight tremor in her hands that she was above excited. She sighed. Way to be an open book, Acacia.

She decided not to bother with him – what's one more factionless among hundreds - and moved to sit on the floor, her back against a wall and busied herself with some needlework. The needle moved almost of its own accord and she couldn't resist glancing at them every now and then, so she positioned herself in a way that allowed her to watch them surreptitiously.

The boy didn't reply at first. His eyes were focused intently on a crack in the floor tiles and he seemed eager not to draw any attention to himself. An attempt which had obviously failed.

"You're from Erudite, right?" Acacia said now, trying to coax some words out of him. He finally looked up and she gave him an encouraging smile.

"Yeah", was all he answered, his voice small and barely audible.

Apparently that was all Acacia needed to go full on Erudite freak on his behind. _  
_

"Oh wow, you must be so smart! How many books have you read in your life? A hundred? A thousand? A _million?_"

Echo groaned quietly. She could very well imagine her friend jumping up and down right now, like a little puppy trying to reach a treat. Over-excited, too eager to please and way too adorable to stand.

The boy smiled a little but kept quiet.

Acacia didn't seem to mind.

"I'm Acacia, by the way. And that over there", she pointed at Echo who was suddenly very busy with her needle, "is my friend, Echo. She can seem a little cold sometimes but she's actually a really nice person. You'll like her!"

Echo couldn't see the boy's reaction as her eyes were glued to the dancing needle in her lap, but she watched his black sneakers as they slowly moved towards her and stopped right in front of her. With a sigh she looked up.

The boy was staring down at her with an odd expression. There was a mixture of disbelief and awe in his eyes and something else that she couldn't quite pin down. She furrowed her eyebrows a little and pulled herself up, still leaning against the wall.

"Look, Erudite boy, I don't know what happened to you and frankly, I don't care. But if you want to survive down here you have to man up and stop looking like a beaten puppy. The people in this safehouse won't hurt you but there's other factionless out there that don't give a shit whether you're life is just as crappy as theirs, their gonna beat you up just for the fun of it. So don't give them any more reason to than they already have. Got it?" Her voice was cold and level as she stared straight into his eyes.  
He didn't draw back like she had expected and just continued to stare at her silently.

Acacia cleared her throat noisily.

"Guys, I'm sorry to interrupt your little staring duel, I'm just as curious to know who wins as you two but Echo and I really need to get going. We have this thing called "work" to do, remember?" Her voice was dripping with acid. It was clearly bothering her that the boy paid her friend so much more attention than herself.

"Echo?", she repeated as her friend didn't move.

Finally Echo averted her eyes, gave a sigh and pushed past the Erudite to get to her cot. Acacia had to dodge a few of the factionless running errands to reach her.

"What was that all about?", she asked, her voice a little less aggressive.

Echo snorted. "How would I know? You were the one dancing around him like a little girl! One would think that would explain why he suddenly turned weird.", she retorted as she grabbed the crumpled bedsheets from her cot and tucked them under her left arm.

Acacia just glared at her angrily.

"You know, you can be a real ass sometimes.", was the only thing she said before she turned around and left to get her own.


End file.
